Latch to prevent sagging



(No Model.)

J. H. CURRI'ER, Jr., W. s. HESP & s. GRUM.-

LATCH TO PREVENT SAGGING.

No. 489,220. Patented Jan. 3, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. CURRIER, J R., WVILLIAM S. HESP, AND SAMUEL CRUM, OF GARNETT,KANSAS.

LATCH TO PREVENT SAGGING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 489,220, dated January3, 1893.

Application filed lllarch 8, 18 92. H Serial No. 424,168. (No model.)

.To whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN H. OURRIER, Jr., WILLIAM S. I-IEsP, and SAMUELURUM, citizens of the United States, residing at Garnett, in the countyof Anderson and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Devices for Preventing Doors and Gates Sagging; and wedo hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a device for supporting doors and preventingdoors and gates sagging at their free sides or edges and binding in thedoor-case and on the sill or threshold thereof, and it has for itsobject to provide a simple, durable, and elfective device for thepurpose named which may be employed either independently of or inconnection with the lock of the door or the fastening of the gate, andit consists in the parts and combinations of parts hereinafter fullydescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification-Figure1 is a perspective view of a portion of a partly opened door and aportion of the door jamb showing our invention applied to a lock and itskeeper; Fig. 2 an end elevation showing the lock and its keeper detachedfrom the door and jamb and our invention in the position the partsassume when the door is closed; and Fig. 3 a perspective view showingour invention adapted for use independently of a lock or otherfastening.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

It is a frequent and common cause of complaint that doors and gates,properly hung in position, soon sag at one side or edge, the free sideor edge, from their own weight and thus when closing interfere with anddrag on the sills or thresholds of the door case or frame, and thusnecessitating the door or gate being raised or lifted by hand every timeit is either opened or closed in order to permit of it swinging free ofthe sills or thresholds and to enable it to be locked and unlocked.

the fact that the door or gate is supported at only one side or edgefrom the door case or frame, the screws which secure the hinges in placeto support the door or gate becoming loose owing to the constantdownward and outward strain of the door or gate thereon and thuspermitting the latter to sag or hang unevenly and rendering the openingand closing of the same difficult. Now, in order to overcome and obviatethis difficulty we have invented means whereby the door or gate, whenclosing, is raised at its free edge to its correct position in the doorcase or frame,free of the sill or threshold, and there held while itremains closed and thus by removing a part of the weight of the door orgate off the hinges and supporting the same at both sides prevent thesagging of the same, and, also, preventing the wind shaking the door andcansing a disagreeable rattling of the same.

In the drawings A represents a portion of a door having a lock B securedthereto to which one of the parts of our invention is secured, the otherpart being secured to or formed with the keeper 0 of the lock which issuitably secured to the door jamb D in position to receive the bolt E ofthe lock.

F represents a bar of metal which, in this instance, is bent downwardly,as at a, at a suitable distance from its end and then straightened outand perforated to receive the screws or rivets b, to secure the same tothe inner face of the lower wall or rim of the lock, said lock having anopening 0 formed in its front Wall through which the cylindrical end ofthe bar F projects or extends for the desired distance. The projectingend of the bar is round or cylindrical and carries thereon aloose rollerG which may be secured against endwise or longitudinal movement in anydesired manner, such, for instance, as by making the rounded portion ofthe bar slightly longer than the roller and securing the collar thereon.While we prefer that the roller G may be movably mounted on the bar, itis not absolutely necessary that it have this freedom of motion as itmay be secured rigidly thereon, or the bar or the cylindrical portion ofit which projects beyond the lock may be enlarged, and the roller, as aseparate piece, dispensed with without affecting the operation orusefulness of the device. At the lower end of the keeper C we extend itsflange (Z and cast therewith, at right angles to the same, the lugs 6between which we mount a friction roller L on a pin h inserted throughthe lugs, said keeper being arranged in such position that the roller Lwill be in line with the projecting end of bar F, or the roller Gmounted or secured thereon if used, so that, when the door is closingthe projecting end of the bar or the roller G will ride on the roller Land raise the free side or edge of the door up to its proper position asit enters the door casing and hold it in such position while the doorremains closed or shut, thus preventing the sagging of the same bysupporting it at both of its sides or edges.

In Fig. 3 we show the rollerL mounted between lugs e projecting from aplate M which is made independent of the keeper 0 and is secured to thedoor jamb or gate post by screws, while the bar F carrying roller G issecured in or cast with a plate N which is formed with perforations forthe insertion of screws to secure the same to the door or gate. Theoperation and result attained by the arran gement and construction ofthe device last described is the same as when the parts are connectedwith a lock and its keeper.

It will be observed that when a door or gate supplied with our inventionis closed the axis of the roller G will be carried slightly beyond theaxis of rollerLand thus, while not acting as a fastening to secure thedoor or gate against being opened, it will prevent doors or gates whichare loosely hung or fitted from being shaken and rattled by the wind. Ifdesired the roller L may be made fast or rigid on its pin and themovable roller G be mounted on the door or lock, as it is only necessarythat one of the rollers be loosely mounted although, as stated aboveboth may be capable of rotary movement.

While we have described the simplest and least expensive manner ofcarrying out our invention we do not desire to be limited or restrictedto the exact arrangement and construction set forth as many changesdiffering therefrom may be made without departing from the scope orspirit of our invention.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:-

The combination, in a device for preventing doors sagging, of a brackethaving perforated lugs secured to the side of the door casing, afriction roller journaled in said lugs, a

